•April 24, 2024•

By Rhiannon Branch

FarmWeek

Illinois will experience a rare phenomenon of nature this year as two broods of periodical cicadas are scheduled to emerge at the same time.

And this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence won’t happen again until 2245.

Kacie Athey, a specialty crop entomologist at the University of Illinois, said the Northern Illinois Brood that emerges every 17 years and the Great Southern Brood, which emerges every 13 years, will come out simultaneously for the first time since 1803. Stragglers from the Mississippi Valley Brood might also appear in 2024.

While the two broods will emerge at the same time, there will likely be only a few places in central Illinois, around Springfield, where they will emerge in the same area, according to the University of Illinois Extension.

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